London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 07, 2026

WHO Announces New Names For Monkeypox Variants To Avoid Causing Offence

WHO Announces New Names For Monkeypox Variants To Avoid Causing Offence

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names to avoid causing any cultural or social offence.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names for variants of the monkeypox virus that are currently in circulation. This is to avoid causing any cultural or social offence, the WHO said in a statement.

The global health agency, World Health Organisation organisation (WHO), named Monkeypox variants as Clades I, IIa and IIb. Experts in pox virology, evolutionary biology and representatives of research institutes from across the globe reviewed the phylogeny and nomenclature of known and new monkeypox virus variants or clades.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names to avoid causing any cultural or social offence.

"Newly identified viruses, related diseases and virus variants are given names to avoid causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups, and minimize the negative impact on trade, travel, tourism, or animal welfare," said WHO said in a statement.

"A group of global experts convened by WHO has agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants, as part of ongoing efforts to align the names of the monkeypox disease, virus and variants--or clades--with current best practices. The experts agreed to name the clades using Roman numerals," said a statement issued by WHO.

"The group reached consensus on new nomenclature for the virus clades which is in line with best practices. They agreed on how the virus clades should be recorded and classified on genome sequence repository sites," read the statement.

According to WHO, "Consensus was reached to now refer to the former Congo Basin (Central African) clade as Clade one (I) and the former West African clade as Clade two (II). Additionally, it was agreed that the Clade II consists of two subclades."

Meanwhile, Delhi reported its fifth monkeypox case with a 22-year-old African woman testing positive for the infection, official sources close to ANI said on Saturday. The woman had travelled to Nigeria a month ago.

She was admitted to LNJP Hospital two days ago and her reports came out on Friday night, confirming that she was positive. She is the second woman in the national capital to contract the infection.

Four persons, including two women, are admitted to the LNJP Hospital with monkeypox while one patient was discharged from the facility.

Last month, the World Health Organization had declared a global health emergency over monkeypox.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Trump Keeps Hegseth at Pentagon While Leaving Door Open for DeSantis
UK Clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Deal, but US Trial Looms
UK Prosecutors Add 38 Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
Taiwan’s President Joins Wartime Command Drill as China Pressure Grows
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
HMRC’s 2029 Tax Shift Could Overlap Old and New Self-Assessment Bills
Thetford Disorder Prompts Expanded Police Powers Amid Asylum-Housing Protests
Cambridge Faces Calls for Independent Review of Jason Arday Appointment
Scotland’s ‘Cock of the North’ Woodland Is Being Felled After Wind Damage
Reform UK and Greens Unite Against Vast Solar Plans for Kent Marshland
New Zealand Draws Wealthy Americans With Revamped Investor Visa
Senate Panel Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony
Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Resigns as University Opens Inquiry Into His Credentials
Manchester Power Failure Disrupts Trains Across North West Into Friday
UK Fashion and Tourism Sectors Prepare for Strong Summer and Autumn Activity
London Residents Seek Appeal Against Approval for Chinese Super-Embassy Development
UK Environment Officials Issue Biosecurity Alert Over Rising Bluetongue Cases in Livestock
UK Charity Regulator Opens Investigations Into Donations Linked to Israeli Settlements
Gatwick Expansion and Chinese Embassy Plans Highlight Growing UK Infrastructure Disputes
UK Agriculture Authorities Warn of Rising Bluetongue Virus Cases Among Sheep Farms
UK Watchdog Finds Electronic Monitoring Failures Leaving Some Offenders Without Timely Alerts
Metropolitan Police Investigate Covent Garden Knife Attack That Injured Four Men
UK Government Confirms Severe Terror Threat Level as Prevent Programme Expands
Diageo Plans Guinness Expansion While Cutting Jobs Through Global Restructuring Programme
Bank of England Keeps UK Borrowing Costs Stable While Markets Await Future Rate Cuts
Gatwick Airport Wins Approval for Second Runway Expansion After Legal Challenges Fail
Apple Challenges UK Government Over Demand for Access to Encrypted iCloud Data
London Approves First Autonomous Taxi Licences for Wayve and Uber Passenger Trials
UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Finds Advanced AI Models Showing Deceptive Behaviour in Security Tests
UK Small Boat Channel Crossings Fall Forty-Three Percent as Government Highlights France Cooperation
UK Government Plans Procurement Reforms to Boost British Jobs and Domestic Steel Supply Chains
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Percent as Inflation Stays Above Target
EY Raises UK 2026 Growth Forecast to Zero Point Nine Percent as Energy Risks Remain a Concern
UK Artificial Intelligence Regulation and Public Infrastructure Investment Remain Key Policy Focus Areas
Kemi Badenoch Faces Criticism Over Appointment of Former Neo-Nazi Linked Figure to Advisory Role
AG Barr Reports £10 Million Sales Loss After Supply Chain and Planning Failures
UK Government Fast-Tracks Specialist Care Pathways for Motor Neurone Disease Patients
UK Government Connects More Than 60,000 Rural Homes and Businesses to Gigabit Broadband
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Forecast After Strong Summer Sales
Metropolitan Police Arrest Woman After Four Men Stabbed in Central London’s Covent Garden Area
UK Procurement Reform and Infrastructure Spending Signal New Focus on Regional Economic Growth
UK Government Expands Global Talent Visa Access for International Researchers and Innovators
NHS Launches £343 Million Expansion of Community Mental Health Centres Across England
UK Treasury Explores Higher Borrowing Capacity for Infrastructure and Housing Investment
UK Cabinet Office Reforms Procurement Rules to Direct £90 Billion of Public Spending Toward Jobs and Skills
UK Government Considers Public Inquiry Into Jeffrey Epstein’s Activities and Possible Institutional Failures
×